One Damn Thing After Another (34 page)

“Women!” he said at last, in the deepest of deep bass voices.

“Yes.”

“You know, to coin a phrase, there are things in this story fit to frighten the French.”

“Yes.”

“You actually succeeded in meeting all these generals, and talking to them.”

“Well, there was quite a lot of argument with janitors. And, of course, I did get put in jail.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. As a sort of administrative convenience? Or as a sort of test. I never will know.”

“Appalling.”

“I don't know. I got what I went for. At least it wasn't a lot of double-talk, just putting me off. They were accessible, polite, intelligent. The further up one got, the less pious platitudes one encountered. Compare that with the way things would happen in any European country.”

“Except that there, one wouldn't get put in jail.”

“Maybe not. Maybe something else, nastier still, might happen. Or more likely, nothing at all would happen. Just a great cloud of anaesthetising gas. Isn't that what's wrong with us here? There's an immense amount of talk, but nothing ever happens.”

“Yes girl, but good heavens … Dreadful place. As the man said, would you like to make your home there?”

“I don't know.”

“Have you even read that Amnesty report? Ten thousand people have simply vanished.”

“Yes, it's deplorable.”

“It's worse than that, it's quite unanswerable.”

“Then why d'you want me to try answering it?”

“Women …” said Arthur.

It was the cleaning woman, sententious soul, who summed things up. Arlette crawled blearily out of bed, came looking for coffee: there wasn't any.

“I'll make you some fresh. Where have you been then, these last days?”

“Argentina.”

“Argentina! But that's said to be a terrible place.”

“It was that terrible plane really. Upsets all one's normal rhythms.”

“They assassinate people. It was in the paper.”

“I suppose it is awful. I don't know, really. Everywhere is awful. We have to begin again everywhere.”

“Take my word for it.” The expert! “They machine-gun people in the street.”

“Do they really?” vaguely, hunting for a teaspoon.

“Dreadful! Now I can remember the Republic, back in Thirty-five …” This flow of reminiscence had to be stopped.

“Well, I came back, safe, anyhow, I went on a job, you know, and I even managed to get it done.”

“Ah,” ominously. “Que tiene capa, escapa!”

“One sees a new place, and one tries to learn. One goes on learning, but I've no idea what.”

“Eh oui,” said dear old Inocencia, with much solemn gravity, “I'll tell you. One learns that life is hard, what, and as my dear father used to say, that women are expensive.”

“What on earth am I to cook for dinner?” asked Arlette.

Nicolas Freeling(1927–2003), born Nicolas Davidson, was a British crime novelist, best known as the author of the Van der Valk series of detective novels; a television series based on the character was produced for the British ITV network by Thames Television during the 1970s, and revived in the 1990s.

Freeling's
The King of the Rainy Country
received a 1967 Edgar Award, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Novel. He also won the Gold Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association.

In 1968 his novel
Love in Amsterdam
was adapted as the film
Amsterdam Affair
directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Wolfgang Kieling as Van Der Valk.

Discover books by Nicolas Freeling published by Bloomsbury Reader at
www.bloomsbury.com/NicholasFreeling

A Long Silence
Criminal Conversation
Double-Barrel
Over the High Side
One Damn Thing After Another
Strike Out Where Not Applicable
The King of the Rainy Country
The Widow
Tsing-Boum

For copyright reasons, any images not belonging to the original author have been removed from this book. The text has not been changed, and may still contain references to missing images.

This electronic edition published in 2014 by Bloomsbury Reader

Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 50 Bedford Square,
London WC1B 3DP

First published in Great Britain in 1981 William Heinemann Ltd

Copyright © 1981 Nicolas Freeling

All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The moral right of the author is asserted.

eISBN: 9781448214617

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